What has been your experience?

[nPeace]

Share your experience.
What has been your experience with the Bible?
Has the Bible helped people, or hindered them - changed people for the better, or for the worst?

My experience with the Bible, is that it has helped people in a major amount of ways, and changed people's lives for the better.
For example, I have seen people who were at war, become at peace with the help of the Bible; people who had violent tempers become lambs; people with marriage problems, racial differences etc. The list is very long.

What has been your experience?
If possible, please give an example or examples.

 

[Skwim]

My experience? Disappointing.
Has it helped people? Yup.
Has it hindered them? In too many ways
Has it changed people for better or worse? You betcha.

.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Share your experience.
What has been your experience with the Bible?
Has the Bible helped people, or hindered them - changed people for the better, or for the worst?

My experience with the Bible, is that it has helped people in a major amount of ways, and changed people's lives for the better.
For example, I have seen people who were at war, become at peace with the help of the Bible; people who had violent tempers become lambs; people with marriage problems, racial differences etc. The list is very long.

What has been your experience?
If possible, please give an example or examples.

The bible gave me insight on all the things I actually dont believe is true. From the role of god, jesus' importance, eternity, and in christianity the biggest turn off: human sacrifice

I can twist and turn that in my head to make human sacrifice positive; but, at the end its a Roman and Greek political things I disagree. I never heard of human sacrifice from Jews and the Torah. Animal, yes. Human, no.

But the gospels was a good read. Hebrews explains christian faith. Galations, sacrifice. I didnt learn life long lessons. It doesnt strengthen my faith.

-

Oh. It does help people. Personally, I like The Church (of course). If I went off the bible, Id never be christian. Going off devotion and prayer to god himself, thats totally different. Personal interaction not written.

 

[Kenny]

Great experiences. Personally, saved my marriage by changing my heart. For my wife, who came from an alcoholic and abusive home, healing (heart) along with her three sisters and mother. From there it was a rippling effect to so many others.

Taught us how to raise children, without worrying about outcomes, and producing a legacy that they still live by and are now extending that knowledge to their own children.

 

[Dawnofhope]

Share your experience.
What has been your experience with the Bible?
Has the Bible helped people, or hindered them - changed people for the better, or for the worst?

My experience with the Bible, is that it has helped people in a major amount of ways, and changed people's lives for the better.
For example, I have seen people who were at war, become at peace with the help of the Bible; people who had violent tempers become lambs; people with marriage problems, racial differences etc. The list is very long.

What has been your experience?
If possible, please give an example or examples.

The bible along with the Baha’i writings have given me strength and insight that I never knew I had. I enjoy association with peoples of all backgrounds. Having had periods of agnosticism and atheism, what has worked best for me is when I’m able to apply the standards of Divine Revelation to my life. For example the emphasis on love and forgiveness have enabled me to overcome troubled times, overlook the shortcomings of others, and work constructively on my own faults.

 

[Deidre]

I'm still reading the Bible again, with an objective view, not with a faith view. I'd say that the Bible can be helpful, but if it falls into the wrong hands, it can be a tool for destruction. Much like a knife. You can slice a piece of steak with it, wash it off and put it away, and it's a safe, useful tool to you, but you can also use that same knife to wound others. I think of the Bible in that way.

 

[Bob the Unbeliever]

Share your experience.
What has been your experience with the Bible?

When I was younger, I ignored most of it, and concentrated on a very tiny slice. The bits about loving your neighbor and whatnot.

Of course-- I did not know at the time, that those bits were not remotely original with the bible-- the bible's authors stole it from earlier philosophies.

As I got older, I began to study the whole bible, it's origins and other things. The more I learned of it, the more of it I read? The less faith I had as a consequence.

So yeah, the bible has made me the atheist I am today, and it's very existence is absolute proof to me, that there cannot possibly be any gods who care about people. Just by permitting it to exist.

 

[shunyadragon]

Share your experience.
What has been your experience with the Bible?

Variable, but only reflecting what people believed concerning God and their relationship with God thousands of years ago.

I find some inspiration in the Psalms.

Has the Bible helped people, or hindered them - changed people for the better, or for the worst?

Depends, thousands of years ago it reflected how they related to the world around them, God, and to some extent guided them with spiritual Laws and principles, but the Bible also reflects the dark side of humanity in the ages it was written.

As the millennia passed since the Revelations described in the Bible, the scripture became less and less positive and meaningful, and began to divide and hinder the spiritual development of humanity, and in some way down right involved and used as the guide by many in the violence of the world..

My experience with the Bible, is that it has helped people in a major amount of ways, and changed people's lives for the better.
For example, I have seen people who were at war, become at peace with the help of the Bible; people who had violent tempers become lambs; people with marriage problems, racial differences etc. The list is very long.

Anecdotal claims for the most part that people of different religions claim from their own perspective.

What has been your experience?
If possible, please give an example or examples.

When I grew up in Costa Rica I came in contact with missionaries of a variety of Christians almost every possible church and became very much aware of their relationships to those who believe different in the competition for evangelizing souls. I was raised in the Roman (c) Church, and became starkly aware of the Third World church in the raw. I became aware of the fundamentalist views toward science and the antagonism between churches not apparent to me in the USA. I also became aware of the Unitarians, Baha'is and Quakers (Society of Friends) which I grew to have great respect for all three. It is this interaction in the Raw that made me aware of many of the problems Christianity has dealing with the world outside their belief, and inspired me to take a deeper and harder look into religion, and reason people believe as they do,.

I also became aware of the superstition that permeated the Roman Church in Latin America, and witnessed attempts at exorcisms.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Following the Bible and Jesus left me miserable, depressed, and suicidal. It's also been the source of justifying discrimination against those like me, African-Americans, Native-Americans, homosexuals, and other minorities. Witch hunts, Crusades, and Inquisitions. It's been pretty nasty, overall.

 

[wizanda]

What has been your experience with the Bible?

The Bible has caused me to be suicidal since realizing it is real, and that the world have no clue that John, Paul, and Simon are all Anti-Christ.

It has made me realize here is near Hell, with a load of demons running around claiming to be saintly for accepting the murder of the innocent.

In my opinion.

 

[A Vestigial Mote]

I can surely admit that The Bible has helped some people. No question. Personal testimony, throughout its history, can tell you that. I can also admit that The Bible has hurt some people. Personal testimony and an examination of history can also tell you that. Which has it done more of? Not sure. Don't think anyone can be, honestly - it's not a quantifiable sort of thing.

 

[Kenny]

I'm still reading the Bible again, with an objective view, not with a faith view. I'd say that the Bible can be helpful, but if it falls into the wrong hands, it can be a tool for destruction. Much like a knife. You can slice a piece of steak with it, wash it off and put it away, and it's a safe, useful tool to you, but you can also use that same knife to wound others. I think of the Bible in that way.

I agree... it can be a scalpel in a surgeons hands to remove tumors or it can be a killer's weapon in a thief's hand.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Great experiences. Personally, saved my marriage by changing my heart. For my wife, who came from an alcoholic and abusive home, healing (heart) along with her three sisters and mother. From there it was a rippling effect to so many others.

I'm glad to hear it. The effect of the Bible on my first marriage was profoundly negative. It wasn't our only issue, but it was certainly a major one and definitely contributed to our divorce.

 

[SalixIncendium]

Share your experience.
What has been your experience with the Bible?

The Bible is highly subject to interpretation, and while there are a few scholarly individuals that study it in the quest to determine its true origin and meanings, most who read it interpret meanings in accordance with their personal agenda.

Has the Bible helped people, or hindered them - changed people for the better, or for the worst?

This is highly dependent on the person and the way s/he interprets Scripture. There are those that become quite benevolent to themselves, to their family and friends, and to society, while there are those who have gone to war to further their Biblical cause.


As far as my personal experience, reading it led me away from the path of Catholicism and Christianity due to inconsistencies both with itself and with scientific knowledge.

 

[England my lionheart]

There's no doubt that the Bible has given comfort to many people and inspired people to do charitable acts like the salvation army feeding homeless etc.

For me though its not a nice book for a kid, it has some horrid stories in it and really the Christian religions history hasn't been a fun ride for the followers or those that don't.

The Bible did spawn a cruel religion Imo, the inquisitions, which hunts, religious wars and persecution, really none of the abhramic faith are attractive to me because as far as I can tell none are true.
Education suffered because of religious restrictions, for me the Catholic faith stands alongside Islam in its cruelty, I had a very good friend who killed himself because he couldn't deal with the guilt he felt for being gay.

The other thing about the bible I find is that it's foreign to me, it's stories from long ago plagiarised for the bible, you can see the commandments in the Egyptian book of the dead for example and there are others like the exodus story too.

Although my parents were believers and protestants I feel fortunate that I could make my own choice what to believe or not, it saddens me that there are children born with no choice at all

 

[Kenny]

I'm glad to hear it. The effect of the Bible on my first marriage was profoundly negative. It wasn't our only issue, but it was certainly a major one and definitely contributed to our divorce.

Sorry to hear that. Hopefully your second marriage is a successful and life filled marriage.

 

[Kenny]

This is highly dependent on the person and the way s/he interprets Scripture. There are those that become quite benevolent to themselves, to their family and friends, and to society, while there are those who have gone to war to further their Biblical cause.

This is so true. Jesus had the same problem. He hated religiosity (using scriptures to bind people, control people and use it for their cause) but loved a relationship (words of love, of building up based on not just a letter of the law but the heart of the Father/children relationship).

 

[nPeace]

I'm still reading the Bible again, with an objective view, not with a faith view. I'd say that the Bible can be helpful, but if it falls into the wrong hands, it can be a tool for destruction. Much like a knife. You can slice a piece of steak with it, wash it off and put it away, and it's a safe, useful tool to you, but you can also use that same knife to wound others. I think of the Bible in that way.

Yes. People can take anything (including the Bible) that is good, and twist it for evil intent and purpose. I agree with that.

2 Peter 3:16 Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB)
in almost all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, among which are some things that are hard to understand, which those that are ignorant and unstable twist, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

 

[nPeace]

I agree... it can be a scalpel in a surgeons hands to remove tumors or it can be a killer's weapon in a thief's hand.

Sort of like the cricket bat huh? Or the tennis racket?
I saw a guy take up a metal chair that someone was sitting on, and banged another guy in the head. Interestingly, somehow the guy didn't have a concussion. Oh yeah... that was WWF Wrestling.

 

[nPeace]

I'm glad to hear it. The effect of the Bible on my first marriage was profoundly negative. It wasn't our only issue, but it was certainly a major one and definitely contributed to our divorce.

Sorry to hear things didn't work out.
I'm curious, and I'm probably not alone.
How did the Bible play a role in affecting your marriage negatively, if you don't mind sharing.